Saturday, April 12, 2014

Week 14 - Quito - April 7, 2014

To start out, I lost our cellphone, does that sound like a surprise? I actually am almost 98% sure that someone stole it from my pocket, but they were good ladrones, so I don´t remember how or when.

So we have been making all our phone calls from cabinas this week. Its been kind of annoying, but we have been blessed with almost all of our citas not falling through, We truly have seen God´s hands in our lives this week.

I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the sisters from San Carlos. All my friends are Hermana Lideres, and so I got to help the Hermanas in our neighboring district when Hermana Madrid, Hemsley, and Cayama had a meeting, which lasted just about the whole day. It was so much fun. Their sector is significantly more peaceful and we were able to have fun time and also get a lot of work done. I was able to realize while on exchanges with Hermana Deveraux and Hermana Calderón that the gospel really is simple, and we can laugh and enjoy the love that we feel from our Heavenly Father, as we are walking. Its good to smile. We shouldn´t have worries harbored in our hearts, only hope. Hermana Madrid had been pretty stressed because of the lost phone, and I was stressed as well. We were able to talk about this in our weekly planning the next day and we have a goal this week to every night recount the miracles that we experience each day.

Also, I went on exchanges again on Friday, with the mission infermera, Hermana Barrett, and her companion, Hermana Chim. The Hermana Lideres had another meeting. The Mission infermera is actually the mission nurse, sorry, I think that I sometimes use spanish words and I hope you all can understand my cartas. She works so hard, and since the nurse form the Mission Quito South has left, she has just been so busy. She hardly ever has time to work in her own sector. When I was studying with them Friday morming we witnessed a miracle. They called one of their contacts, Carlos, and he told them that he had been trying to call them and that after they contacted him, he recieved a phone call with a job offer. This was a sign for him that the missionaries were from God, and so he came to Generla Conference the next day. Wow.. Right? The Lord is blessing and preparing people, and it really touched my heart, that even though these sisters hardly get to contact and work in their sector, the Lord is blessing them for their diligence in their other responsibilities.

Now for the really good news. Francisco had his baptismal interview yesterday after conference, and he is ready to be baptized this weekend. My first baptism! I am so excited! I can really see the change in him form the first day we found him contacting after one of our citas fell. He has been befriended by the Elder´s Quorum in the ward, especially by a former Menos Activo, Fabian. Fabian is the reason that Francisco has gained so much confidence in the ward. We had a family home evening with Fabian´s family and Francisco, yesterday, and the spirit was so strong. Francisco was smiling and glowing as the family bore their testimony about the book of mormon and Joseph Smith. The lesson was taught by Fabian, and was basically just an inspired discussion in how the book of mormon is the key stone of our religion. My heart was filled with gratitude to this family, that we have helped return to church. My heart is filled with gratitude right now as I look at who I am and what I have been able to see here in Ecuador. The people have such strong testimonies. And even though sometimes we have stressful days, we always have the assurance that Christ is by our sides

I was extremely touched in Conference this week by all the speakers who testified of Christ´s atoning sacrifice. I think here in the mission field, I have been focusing more in Joseph Smith and the Priesthood Restoration. In my mind have undermined the reality of Christ´s pure love and that he lives. Because this is one thing that almost everyone already knows here, everyone is Catholic. But I realized that as I was listening to Elder Christofferson´s talk, many people don´t fully know the pure love of Christ, because they don´t fully know the truth. I am a disciple of Christ, and it is my responsibility to remember and study that our purpose in life is literally nothing if we do not except and realize that Christ died, so we can live. And it is so simple. Christ lives, and so will we for eternity, if we but follow the straight and narrow path that he beckons us to follow. There are never endings.. only everlasting beginnings. (I thankfully was able to view conference in english with all the other gringos in our stake) And so I guess I´m not really ending this email. I´m starting a new week. And I´m starting the groundwork for my email next week. And thus I am everlastingly beginning anew testimony to share with you all. May everyone have a fantastic week and be filled with the Love of Christ!